Can Birds Eat Raisins?
Once you start feeding birds in your garden, you’ll be certain to want to continue. It’s a joyful thing to watch lots of different types of garden birds visit for a snack. However, if you run out of birdseed and raid your kitchen cupboards for other options, you may find yourself wondering: Can birds eat raisins?
Many of us have leftover raisins at home. We buy a box or bag for a baking session and whatever doesn’t get used is forgotten. When either looking for bird table treat alternatives or simply having a clear out, you may find that neglected packet and imagine that your feathered friends would enjoy a sweet treat.
But is it safe for birds to eat raisins? Let’s explore the dos and don’ts of feeding raisins to birds.
Can Birds Eat Raisins Safely?
Raisins are a healthy snack for garden birds. Raisins are essentially dried grapes, and while the dehydration process changes the flavour of the fruit and the resulting snack is much sweeter, lots of the positive nutrients remain.
However, you will need to take care to prepare raisins correctly before feeding them to birds, to avoid upsetting small avian stomachs. We’ll come back to how to prepare raisins a little later in this article, but first, a note on raisin types.
Types of Raisins that Birds Can Eat
There are countless types of raisins available in the store, and happily, they are all suitable for birds to eat, just as long as they don’t contain any other added ingredients.
It doesn’t even matter if the raisins are seeded or seedless, as your feathered visitors won’t mind either way.
Here are a few popular types of raisins that lots of garden birds will love:
- Black raisins
- Golden raisins
- Sultanas
- Currants
- Red raisins
- Green raisins
- Seedless raisins
- Seeded raisins
Are Raisins Good for Birds?
Raisins are an excellent source of energy for birds. This energy is delivered in the form of a natural carbohydrate, called fructose. They are also high in dietary fibre which helps to maintain a healthy digestive system and strong immune function.
This little dried fruit also packs a nutritious punch with lots of different vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. They contain Vitamins A, which supports a bird’s vision – crucial for spotting food from high above.
Raisins also contain Vitamins B and C which are useful for energy conversion, immunity, and maintaining healthy cells.
In terms of minerals, raisins provide important trace nutrients like selenium, magnesium, and phosphorus. They also offer calcium, iron, and potassium, which support bone growth, healthy oxygen transfer, and strong muscle function respectively.
How to Prepare Raisins for Birds
When feeding grapes to birds, you can simply drop the fruit on your bird table and leave it at that. In contrast, raisins require a little more culinary care. Birds will eat dried raisins, but too many of these sticky, dense treats can cause digestive upset.
So, how can birds eat raisins without enduring any tummy trouble? The trick is to soak or boil raisins before serving them to partially rehydrate the fruits.
This process takes several hours in cold water but can be done more quickly in hot water. Re-plumped raisins will not only nourish and fuel garden birds but will also provide them with helpful hydration.
Another way to incorporate raisins into your bird-feeding ritual is to make homemade bird suet. This is a mix of rendered animal fat—usually beef fat—mixed with bird-friendly ingredients such as nuts, seeds, and dried fruits. This gooey blend can be shaped into bird food balls or logs that can then be hung on strings or left on the bird table, providing a diverse and nutrient-dense all-in-one food source.
The Importance of a Varied Diet for Birds
Speaking of variety, when feeding raisins to birds, it is important to remember that our avian visitors need a varied diet to meet their full nutritional needs. In the wild, a mix of bugs, grubs, seeds, grains, and fruits will cover both the macronutrient and micronutrient requirements of birds.
Macronutrients are the big three: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Birds need all of these in balance to maintain their health throughout the year.
Micronutrients are the smaller but equally vital components that contribute to cell health, like the vitamins and minerals listed above.
Providing the birds that visit your garden with a diverse range of snacks is vital to their health, particularly during the winter months or over a very dry summer when other food sources are scarce. At these times, a range of treats will help to keep birds active and strong and provide all the energy they need to stay warm.
So, while raisins are healthy for birds to eat, they shouldn’t be the only food option that you offer on your bird table.
Which Birds Eat Raisins?
Having diligently prepared your raisins, you’re probably wondering what kinds of birds might stop by for a snack.
Below are just a few of the many birds you might spot popping by:
- Wren
- Robin
- Blue Tit
- Blackbird
- SongThrush
- Sparrow
A Final Word of Warning!
While raisins are completely safe for birds to eat, many animal lovers will have other pets around too. And if you have dogs then you need to be extra cautious.
Like grapes, raisins are not safe for dogs to eat. This is because they contain tartaric acid, which is toxic to our canine companions, though completely safe for birds. It’s also worth noting that other less-welcome visitors like rats will be keen on raisins, so you should always clean up under your bird table to avoid encouraging rodents into your garden.
In Conclusion
So there you have it! If you are keen to clear out your kitchen cupboards while providing garden birds with a treat, raisins are a fantastic option. They provide a host of key nutrients, a great source of energy, and lots of rewarding health benefits.
Plus, as the birds tuck in, you’ll be able to enjoy getting a closer look at birds that would otherwise remain shy.
And as birds need a varied diet, why not explore our other articles about which household foods are safe for the bird table?
